Samhi C. – Features Editor
skc5908@psu.edu

Hosted by the Creative Writing department, Behrend Reads is a once-a-year event that allows Behrend’s Humanities & Social Sciences professors to share either their work or work that is close to them with their colleagues and students. Last Thursday, March 13, at 6 P.M., I attended Behrend Reads for the second time since I came to Erie. And as is the case with many of the Creative Writing department’s readings, it was an opportunity to learn a little more about the world and delve into the psyches of some of my favorite people or complete strangers. 

But what sets apart Behrend Reads from all the other readings is that it is a once-a-year chance, and for many of us a one-to-four-times-in-our-life chance, to hear our professors read work that is not for academic purposes. Except for George Looney who somehow managed to get two poetry collections published in one academic year, awarding him the opportunity to perform two solo readings where he was center of attention as is Behrend tradition, how many times do we get to hear from other professors?

Behrend Reads is an opportunity to hear our professors’ voices, the ones they use only when crafting or experiencing the page, the ones that allows us to be immersed in a page we never would have experienced otherwise because it is not part of the curriculum.

Without further ado, here is a recap of the readings in chronological order: 

Aimee Pogson

Every time I hear Aimee’s work, I am always left with a sense of ‘wtf did I just hear?’ in the best possible way. I have to thank her for introducing me to the world of magical realism, a world I never would have stepped into if I had not had her as a professor, and a world that I desperately needed. Magical realism is an opportunity to view the world through fiction in a way that allows one to come to terms with their issues, choose to completely ignore them, or if you are smart enough, find a way to reconcile both options. As with any piece of magical realism, Aimee’s “Some Dirty to Live By” is a fascinating narrative that offers metaphors in concrete images and actions. Featuring a child who attempts physical purity by having her bones taken out and boiled and cleaned and put back in, it allows us to contemplate the many ways in which people attempt non-physical cleanliness in the process of growing up.  

Elizabeth Fogle

“I’m trying to end it on a more positive note but when you’re dealing with Sylvia Plath as your source material, it’s sort of hopeless” are the words Prof. Fogle said, laughing, before she wrapped up reading to us a set of erasure poems for which she used Plath’s book “The Bell Jar” as the source. The collection, “Taxidermy”, aptly named for the way it is constructed, encapsulates us in patterns of words and phrases that produce emotions even without direct narratives. “Taxidermy” is poet Matthew Zapruder’s idea that poetry is what happens when you use words for the sake of words coming to life. 

Evan Ringle

To begin, a hearty congratulations to Evan for getting his story “You Should Be Happy” into “Jelly Bucket”, a print and online literary journal run by Eastern Kentucky University. Evan read an excerpt from the story, beginning with the main character Mandy’s fear that her husband Dave might leave her and ending with her voicing the desire to have a child while Dave, thinking she is talking about wanting pets, says he already has “too much work … to take on any more responsibilities.” A face-palm for Dave’s reaction and applause for Evan’s clear, crisp, and clever prose. Side note: how do I get my hands on a copy of “Jelly Bucket” so I can finish reading the story? 

Frederique Marty

Even more than hearing from the English and Creative Writing faculty whose job it is to share the literature they love, it is a thrill to hear from faculty belonging to other programs. Madame Marty presented us with two French poems: Charles Baudelaire’s 1861 “Chant d’automne” from “Les fleurs du mal” and an excerpt from Aimé Césaire’s 1939 “Cahier d’un retour au pays natal”. Having learned French for years yet not nearly having enough practice with it or exposure to it, it always blows my mind to hear native French speakers talk in French. But hearing them read poetry in French, my friends, is even more beautiful. Along with the French originals, Madame Marty also read their English translations: the first by William Aggeler and the second by Clayton Eshleman and Annette Smith. 

Martin Carrión

Dr. Carrión’s choice of readings for the evening were two non-English poems as well. The first was “Shimi Wawakuna” originally written in Quechua, the language of the Incas, by Fredy Chicangana. Chicangana himself also wrote the Spanish version of the poem, “Palabra y Niños”, which we also got to hear, followed up by the English translation, “Words and Children” by Daniel Simon. The second poem was “La Paz”, a Spanish poem, by Enrique Diez de Medina. “La Paz” which means “City of Peace” was inspired by events from the Bolivian Revolution. Dr. Carrión himself translated the poem into English for us. 

George Looney 

“Attendant Ghosts”, his 2000 publication, is the collection George read from. The first poem he read, “Unidentified Woman with Horse” paints a picture of well, a literal woman on a horse that blurs past a camera, but also a metaphor for how people go in and out of our lives, barely recognized and left behind in history as anonymous. The second poem, a shorter piece, titled “In the Sober Geography of a Woman” meanwhile gives us a story of a man who is haunted by a woman, not literally, but emotionally, romantically and sexually.

Tom Noyes

I am not sure why I have never read his work before, but I am sure I will, moving forward after hearing T.N. read his “Epilogue”. The backstory to this short story is that post-COVID, while unable to get his latest book on the shelves due to quarantine and an overall drop in physical books being bought, he had a dream in which the ghost of dead friend visited him to say he read the book and provide some sarcastic commentary on both his experience with the book as well as some philosophies about living and dying and a version of the afterlife. More than anything, I appreciate this story for its humor, pragmatism, and the ability to turn apprehension into coping.

Credit: BehrendHSS/Instagram

C